Motion strengthens CSA public ties with the GSMC
The Central Student Association (CSA) has voted (16-9) in favour of formally endorsing the “Pay More, Get Less” campaign run by the Guelph Student Mobilization Committee (GSMC). The decision was finalized after a lengthy debate during the CSA’s first Board of Directors meeting of the new semester, held Wednesday, Jan. 15.
For the past two semesters, the “Pay More, Get Less” campaign has been warning against two U of G policies: the Program Prioritization Process (PPP) and annual tuition fee increases.
But controversy surrounding the “Pay More, Get Less” campaign has had less to do with the message itself than the nuances, or lack thereof according to some, of the posters used to advertise the campaign. The campaign’s bright orange flyer features a smiling President Alastair Summerlee holding a large pair of scissors next to a speech bubble that has him say: “Pay More, Get Less.” The banner at the top of the flyer reads: “Tuition fees are going up, and our programs are being cut!”
The Board of Directors heard from many of its own members before making a decision. Denise Martins, who is the CSA’s Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) representative and the one who introduced the motion, spoke first and reminded those in attendance about the importance of getting students involved in the PPP discussion.
Others who spoke in favour of the motion, including each member of Executive in attendance, spoke highly of the work the GSMC has done to get students involved in the broader debate, while noting that the GSMC’s mandate to oppose tuition fee increases and austerity measures is broadly the same as the CSA’s.
Executive members also encouraged those who take issue with the GSMC’s poster campaign to attend GSMC meetings to prompt change at that level. Executive members further argued that endorsing the campaign is perhaps the best way to influence its overall direction.
“If we’re not okay with what is being portrayed in these campaigns, that is something that only by endorsing the campaign and sitting on these coalition meetings are we going to be able to change,” said Julia Forster, the CSA’s Academic and University Affairs Commissioner.
Strong executive support is indicative of the fact that the CSA is also nominally a member of the GSMC coalition, with members of the executive who regularly attend GSMC meetings. As David Alton, the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences (CSAHS) representative at-large, said at the meeting, “this motion is about whether we are formally putting a label on practically what we are already doing.”
But opponents of the motion expressed unease over the polarizing language used in the campaign.
“I’ve had students raise concerns, to myself and other members of the college government, that they do not feel comfortable supporting something such as this. They’ve seen pictures of the posters in the campaign and the pictures of Alastair – they feel like it’s instilling fear and they don’t really want to have that represent them,” said Kimmy Snider, Vice-President of Activities on CSAHS Student Alliance.
Tom Heeman, also a member of the CSAHS Student Alliance, accused the campaign of stirring up “fear with misinformation” and urged the CSA to tackle these important issues with its own resources.
Scott Simons, representing the Student Senate Caucus, also advised the CSA against supporting the campaign.
“I think [the campaign is] sensationalist and overdramatic and I think it is a poor representation of both sides,” said Simons. “We have to show both sides of the argument, and I think that supporting this campaign does a disservice to the student body who doesn’t have the time to go through [the PPP].”
After an hour of debate, the discussion was put to an end by a vote to call the motion to question. The motion passed and, hereafter, the CSA will formally support the “Pay More, Get Less” campaign by participating in GSMC meetings and by advertising the campaign through its own media channels.